The Techniques for Overcoming Depression Questionnaire: Mokken Scale Analysis, Reliability, and Concurrent Validity in Depressed Cardiac Patients.

The Techniques for Overcoming Depression (TOD) questionnaire assesses the frequency with which patients being treated for depression use cognitive-behavioral techniques in daily life. This study examined its latent structure, reliability and concurrent validity in depressed cardiac patients. The TOD was administered at the initial and final treatment sessions in three trials of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) (n = 260) for depression in cardiac patients. Mokken scaling was used to determine its dimensionality. The TOD is unidimensional in depressed cardiac patients, both at the initial evaluation (H = .46) and the end of treatment (H = .47). It is sensitive to change and the total score correlates with therapist ratings of the patient’s socialization to CBT (r = .40, p \u3c .05), homework adherence (r = .36, p \u3c .05), and use of cognitive-behavioral techniques (r = .51, p \u3c .01). TOD scores were associated with post-treatment depression scores in two of the trials (p \u3c .01 in both analyses). The TOD is a unidimensional, reliable, valid, and clinically informative measure of self-reported use of cognitive-behavioral techniques for overcoming depression in cardiac patients. Studies of the TOD in other depressed patient populations are needed

Increased Ventricular Premature Contraction Frequency During REM Sleep in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease and Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Background Patients with obstructive sleep apnea are reported to have a peak of sudden cardiac death at night, in contrast to patients without apnea whose peak is in the morning. We hypothesized that ventricular premature contraction (VPC) frequency would correlate with measures of apnea and sympathetic activity.Methods Electrocardiograms from a sleep study of 125 patients with coronary artery disease were evaluated. Patients were categorized by apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) into Moderate (AHI <15) or Severe (AHI>15) apnea groups. Sleep stages studied were Wake, S1, S2, S34, and rapid eye movement (REM). Parameters of a potent autonomically-based risk predictor for sudden cardiac death called heart rate turbulence were calculated.Results There were 74 Moderate and 51 Severe obstructive sleep apnea patients. VPC frequency was affected significantly by sleep stage (Wake, S2 and REM, F=5.8, p<.005) and by AHI (F=8.7, p<.005). In Severe apnea patients, VPC frequency was higher in REM than in Wake (p=.011). In contrast, patients with Moderate apnea had fewer VPCs and exhibited no sleep stage dependence (p=.19). Oxygen desaturation duration per apnea episode correlated positively with AHI (r2=.71, p<.0001), and was longer in REM than in non-REM (p<.0001). The heart rate turbulence parameter TS correlated negatively with oxygen desaturation duration in REM (r2=.06, p=.014).Conclusions Higher VPC frequency coupled with higher sympathetic activity caused by longer apnea episodes in REM sleep may be one reason for increased nocturnal death in apneic patients

Psychosocial syndemics and multimorbidity in patients with heart failure

Heart failure (HF) is a common cause of hospitalization and mortality in older adults. HF is almost always embedded within a larger pattern of multimorbidity, yet many studies exclude patients with complex psychiatric and medical comorbidities or cognitive impairment. This has left significant gaps in research on the problems and treatment of patients with HF. In addition, HF is only one of multiple challenges facing patients with multimorbidity, stressful socioeconomic circumstances, and psychosocial problems. The purpose of this study is to identify combinations of comorbidities and health disparities that may affect HF outcomes and require different mixtures of medical, psychological, and social services to address. The syndemics framework has yielded important insights into other disorders such as HIV/AIDS, but it has not been applied to the complex psychosocial problems of patients with HF. Th

Effect of obstructive sleep apnea on response to cognitive behavior therapy for depression after an acute myocardial infarction

Objective: To determine whether obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) interferes with cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for depression in patients with coronary heart disease. Methods: Patients who were depressed within 28 days after an acute myocardial infarction (MI) were enrolled in the Enhancing Recovery in Coronary Heart Disease. (ENRICHD) trial; 289 (12%) of the 2481 participants in ENRICHD met the criteria for inclusion in this ancillary study. Results: A validated ambulatory ECG algorithm was used to detect OSA. Of the 289 participants, 64 (22%) met the criteria for OSA. CBT was efficacious relative to usual care (UC) for depression (p=.004). OSA had no effect on 6-month Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scores (p=.11), and there was no interaction between OSA and treatment (p=.42). However, the adjusted mean (se.) 6-month BDI scores among patients without OSA were 122 (0.8) vs. 9.0 (0.8) in the UC and CBT groups (Cohen's d=.40); among those with OSA, they were 9.5 (1.4) and 8.1 (1.5) in the UC and CBT groups (d=.17). There were no significant OSA x Treatment interactions in the major depression (n = 131) or minor depression (n=158) subgroups, but in those with major depression, there was a larger treatment effect in those without (d=.44) than with (d=.09) OSA. In those with minor depression, the treatment effects were d=.37 and d=.25 for the non-OSA and OSA subgroups. Conclusion: CBT is efficacious for depression after an acute Myocardial infarction in patients without obstructive sleep apnea, but it may be less efficacious for post-MI patients with OSA. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved